Today in New York, the United Nations Security Council meets to discuss Russian war crimes in Ukraine. This will be a circus.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than 5,000 Ukrainian civilians are dead at Russian hands. These are not soldiers killed in fighting; these are innocent civilians killed by Russian attacks on civilian targets. Continue reading
In late September 2018 — four years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine — the American President gave a speech, a prescient and foretelling speech, at the United Nations in which he cautioned the German nation not to become dependent upon Russia for its energy needs.
President Donald J Trump in a reflective moment before giving his best foreign policy speech at the United Nations at the high point of his tenure.
In that speech the American President said:
Reliance on a single foreign supplier can leave a nation vulnerable to extortion and intimidation. That is why we congratulate European states, such as Poland, for leading the construction of a Baltic pipeline so that nations are not dependent on Russia to meet their energy needs. Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course.
He was referring to the completion of NordStream II and the continuing operation of NordStream I.
The Russians and the Puffer Coat Putin’s plan for Act I in the despoilment and depredation of Ukraine did not go according to plan.
1. The Russian army, a thuggish collection of murderers, rapists, and criminals with vast amounts of weaponry and armor with piss poor leadership and comms failed to drive down from Belarus, shout BOO! at Kyiv, and take the capital and kill the President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy in the planned 4 days. Stupid Russians. Continue reading
In the midst of the bloody slaughter that is Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the multitude of war crimes, Ukrainians with hands wired behind their backs and a bullet in their head, tongues cut out, bodies left to decompose in the streets behind retreating Russian forces, wholesale rape of girls and women, and the imposition of crushing economic sanctions by the west — it isn’t enough — Russia continues the charade that it is a part of a modern, global, civilized, financial world.
The Russians are desperately trying to preserve their sovereign nation bonds and to prevent them from going into default. Continue reading
Russia is feeling the pain of western sanctions and has begun to attempt to punch back. The problem is they have very limited power when they are financially ostracized by the west.
One more time: The Russian economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product is 25% smaller than Italy and its GDP is going to crater with the sanctions. This is the real problem. Russia economically is a pimple on the world’s economic ass.
Russia is a gas station with a coal bin out back. Continue reading
Do you know anything about the International Monetary Fund? Haha. No, you don’t. Stop pretending. Let me help you.
The BIG STORY:
Dear Russia – not Vladimir Putin, but the Russian people,
Normally, I would begin by hoping things are going well for you in Russia, but we both know they are not.
The United States was once upon a time energy independent and then Joe Biden was elected.
Since then, it has become apparent that we need to find some new sources of crude oil particularly since we finally stopped funding the crude Putin War Machine by buying more than 600,000 barrels a day of his nasty Russian crude.
The Biden administration is reportedly looking in Venezuela and Iran to replace that crude which entails the reality that it will be shipped in oil tankers.
Maybe they should look in the United States since we sit on a gigantic reservoir of oil and gas ourselves? Maybe we should re-invigorate the Keystone XL pipeline deal? Using domestic sources would preclude shipping costs and environmental impacts.
There is no alternative when importing oil than ships. Well, except for pipelines, trains, and trucks from Canada.
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